The Tale Of Guilt
by WarriorKittyTribute
Summary: The next day when Katniss have volunteered for her spot in the Hunger Games, Prim feels guilty and angry and sad. What will happen to get her to overcome her guilt? Will the feelings ever go away? R&R Please, my first story! Just a little fluff.


This is my first fanfic! YAY! Please R&R! Love it, hate it, wanna burn it in the trash? I'd really like some constructive criticism.

Anyways, this is about Prim, and maybe what she's feeling when Katniss volunteered the day before. How does she deal with all the guilt? A one-shot.

**Disclaimer: I wouldn't be on _FAN_ fiction if I owned THG.**

Prim walked along the road to school, silently. Her eyes were puffy; but she couldn't cry anymore. She had to be strong. One day ago, her sister took her place for the reaping. _Katniss. _She didn't want to think about her anymore- she couldn't bear to have her in her thoughts, weighing her down with guilt. But even though Prim tried, Katniss always came back to her. She couldn't believe that just a few days ago her sister was joking with her, and smiling. Katniss probably hated her.

The wind smashed into her face, cold as winter, and it whipped her out of her thoughts into reality. The cobblestone was clacking beneath her two sizes too big shoes. Stupid cobblestone. There are no rocks for me to kick. The ground didn't make her angry noises no matter how hard she wished, stomping her feet into the ground, as a sudden bout of anger washed over her. Stupid cobblestone, stupid Katniss for volunteering, stupid Hunger Games, and worst of all, stupid me. Prim scowled-something she hadn't remembered doing for along time.

She sighed as the anger was replaced with sadness. She knew deep down that Katniss couldn't win. She knew that her sister was up against impossible odds. She had basically already been pronounced dead by the whole town! And, a part of her knew she was a goner. She knew she wouldn't ever see her sister again. And she loathed herself for it. She hated herself for moving on, and her sister hadn't even been gone for two days yet.

A new set of footprints clacked beside her as she just caught sight of the school. How dare this person! This mystery person! How dare they interrupt my anger and sadness! They don't know what it's like to have their sibling and best friend ripped away from them!

But as she looked up, it was just Rory Hawthorne. She scowled at him. He just kept walking beside her. He didn't say anything. And for some reason, that irked her. Couldn't he just say his half-hearted condolence, while secretly glad he and his brothers didn't get picked, and get the heck out of here? He has no right intruding on my grief. On my self loathing. Loathing for not saving Katniss. His presence made it hard to concentrate on anything.

I quickened my pace. He quickened his. I slowed down, he slowed down too. I came to a stop.

"Look, Rory, what do you want?" I spit at him.

He just looked thoughtfully at me. "I want," said Rory very slowly, "To tell you that I know I won't ever comprehend what it's like. To lose your sister. I can't imagine it."

"Is that all!" I shot back at him. I don't know why I was just so angry at him, just that I was.

"I wasn't finished!" he said.

"Well too bad!" I retorted. I walked up the school steps and was about to open the door, rather hot headedly, when he blocked my path way.

He looked calmly at me, his black hair swirling around his head from the wind.

"Nobody blames you, Prim. And you shouldn't blame yourself."

"It's too late for that now, isn't it?" I said. My eyes started filling up. Great! I was going to cry!

"It was Katniss's decision to volunteer. Nobody could have stopped her. She loved you." He looked me straight in the eye, something that everyone dropping by to see us avoided at all costs. It kinda got to me. Made it seem more meaningful that someone actually knew what was going on inside my brain.

"But I could have stopped her! I sent her to her death!" Tears started spilling down my face, and I felt almost swept away by the sorrow I was feeling. "And the thing is, I've given up on her, and she's not even in the Games yet! I've given up. On my own sister!" My knees started to buckle. I started to sob, and Rory helped me sit down on the school step, then sat down next to me. I was so past being embarrassed right now. So past being embarrassed at having this great big weep fest outside of the school building, talking to someone that I kinda-sorta knew.

He looked at me again, then looked at the overcast clouds. Then Rory said something unexpected. "No. You couldn't have prevented it." He looked rather uncomfortable with this, but he kept going, "And I know for a fact that you haven't given up on her. You're just afraid for her."

"How do y-you know?" I sniffled.

"Because you love her. And love means not giving up. So by loving Katniss, you haven't given up on her. You're just afraid for her."

I thought about this for a bit. "But she probably won't make it-"

"Prim," he interrupted, "Prim. What does Katniss do again?" "S-she hunts?" I asked, confused.

"Exactly. She's the best hunter in the district. Probably the whole of Panem! If she gets her hands on a weapon, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she won the games this year." His voice sounded soothing on my self induced head ache.

The last of my tears stopped falling. "You wouldn't?" I asked.

"Not at all," Rory said, giving a small laugh.

He made me smile a little too.

I looked down into the lap of my old, faded-blue school shirt and pants. I felt, for once in two days, calm. Or at least, more calm then I had been since the Reaping. Maybe I should get to know Rory a little better. We sat in silence for a minute, until the bell rang.

"Thanks, Rory."

"Don't mention it."

He stood up, and offered me his hand. I got up. We walked into the school building together, but not before I paused in the doorway and looked at the sky, with the clouds starting to part for a little of the sun to peek through.

"_I love you, Katniss,"_ I thought. _"And I promise I'll never ever give up on you." _And as i felt a small ray of sun shining down on me, it seemed to fill me up with the slowly spreading feeling of hope.


End file.
